Page 107 of Trick or Stalk

She races toward me.

I crouch and remove the leaf before scratching behind her ears.

For the first time since Grandma died, today felt almost... normal.

Not completely. I don't think normal exists anymore.

Maybe that's the thing no one tells you about grief. You don't get your old life back. You build another one around the empty space.

The thought follows me onto the porch.

My gaze automatically lifts to the ghost. Still straight.

I stop. The uneasiness returns.

For most of today, I'd forgotten about it.

The bookstore kept me busy. Then Hades kept invading my thoughts.

But now I'm standing in front of the decoration that’s still perfectly straight. And I don’t remember doing it.

I’m fairly certain I didn’t.

I look toward the woods. Everything is quiet and still.

I force myself to relax. “Come on, Penny.”

We go inside.

I lock the door behind us.

The rain begins shortly after seven, tapping steadily against the windows.

I curl onto the couch beneath a blanket with Penny tucked against my thigh. A bowl of popcorn sits beside me. Candy fills another bowl on the coffee table.

I grab the remote and turn on the television.“What are we feeling?”

Penny chews on the leg of the stuffed bat.

“Comedy?”

She continues chewing.

“Romance?”

Nothing.

“Horror?”

Her head lifts.

I point at her. “You have terrible judgment.”

Her tail wags.

“Fine.”

I scroll until I find a channel having a horror movie marathon.